The standout members of the United States Men’s National Team may be playing at a high level with European sides, but beyond Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Antonee Robinson, the rest of the squad is struggling with consistent minutes. First-choice goalkeeper Matt Turner and midfielder Yunus Musah are two of the standout examples in Mauricio Pochettino’s side who have not featured regularly this season, but there are others in the group with similar problems.
Folarin Balogun and Tim Weah have withdrawn from this camp due to injuries and have also been in and out of their XIs. Playing time has been a consistent point that sporting director Matt Crocker and Pochettino have driven home. For USMNT legend Clint Dempsey, the picture isn’t necessarily so cut and dry.
“For certain players I think it affects them more than others. Look at the downside of Christian [Pulisic] where he didn’t play much with Chelsea, but when it came to the national team he showed up and showed himself.
“But you need players who play regularly in teams to get that level of sharpness and fitness so they can play consistently at a high level. It’s important to get guys from these big teams playing a big role in them, in instead of sitting on the couch.” and coming in as a substitute, wherever you are, it’s important to play and get that confidence because if you want to have longevity in this game you have to play consistently and it keeps you injury free I think.”
Mentality has definitely been an issue for the national team and that’s where Dempsey’s point about trust comes into play. It’s a lot easier to have confidence in your own abilities when your club supports you to perform. Athletes are creatures of habit and therefore it is easier to prepare by knowing the exact role at all times. Sitting on the couch and not knowing when you can come in can be stressful, especially if the goal is to show why you should have started in the first place.
Of course, given the demanding schedule of the modern game, overexertion can certainly test fitness and lead to injury. Balogun’s injury may have been random in the grand scheme of things as he suffered a shoulder injury after scoring a goal, but it is still an injury that will force him to miss this camp. Consistency is important to stay in shape and the demands on footballers are only increasing by the day. Despite the key players missing this camp, there are still reasons for optimism.
Most of those reasons stem from confidence in Pochettino. He is a manager who has improved players everywhere he has gone and the expectation is that his system will help the team improve. His presence alone can also have quite an impact.
“Then Jurgen [Klinnsmann] became a coach, it was cool to get a coach who had won everything. He won World Cups, he won Champions League and he came in and was able to demonstrate what he wanted us to do on the pitch,” Dempsey recalls. “I think it’s important to have coaches who have dealt with great players so they won’t be afraid to put people in their place.”
There can be a balance between the two, as the former under Gregg Berhalter was successful despite not coming with that international pedigree, but experimenting at the international level can be a good thing if things aren’t going well. Pochettino will not be afraid to make changes and push every player to be the best possible version of themselves. He is an organized manager who will ensure the USMNT is successful in 20206 and beyond.
“I see this team getting back on track. Getting out of their group and moving on from there depends on who you sign and who you face when you come out of the group, but if they don’t, they don’t come out of the group.” group on home soil would be a failure for me,” Dempsey said of his 2026 predictions.
Expectations are high for Pochettino’s USMNT, but there are reasons to believe they can hit them and get back to their best.